Current issue:
ABOUT BUSINESS - 02.2008
Budget Flights
Over the last four years, the carriers offering cheap flights have completely changed the passenger flights market in Poland. Now, all large cities in the country have permanent connections with the world and Poles have learnt that a journey by plane does not necessarily ruin their budgets. Low cost airlines were born in America, and in the last decade of the 20th century they entered the European market. In Poland, their destination were neglected regional airports, which now offer many connections. At present, there are many cheap carriers available to choose from, and many others are preparing for entering the Polish sky. The potentates in cheap flying offer tens of regular connections between Poland and different cities abroad (Wizz Air - 55, Ryanair - 40, Centralwings - 35, Norwegian - 15). The competition on the airlines market has already proved beneficial, as traditional carriers have had to reduce their prices. And they are more and more often ready to introduce special cheaper offers.
Foreign Investments in Poland
Foreign investments continue to come to Poland. Last year and this year their value may reach USD 19 billion. According to a survey conducted by Ernst&Young, Poland is the second country, following China, where companies most willingly locate their industrial production. In 2007, there were 4,000 new companies with foreign capital shares established in Poland. These are mainly small and medium-sized companies, unlike in 2006, when the investors were most frequently large concerns, such as Indesit, which built a domestic appliances factory in Radomsko, or Toshiba, which constructed a television set factory in Kobierzyce. 90 per cent of the new enterprises are companies that invest below USD 1 million. Poland is most often a destination for companies from the automotive, electronic, food processing, paper-making and services sectors.
Foreign Funds in Poland
Foreign investment funds have started to win the competition for Polesî investment portfolios with their Polish counterparts. According to the Analizy Online company, their assets grew by as many as 22 per cent in the third quarter of 2007. In that period, the resources accumulated in the accounts of Polish funds increased by 1 per cent only. The interest in foreign funds has been observed for two years. And their popularity, according to experts, is bound to grow. Polish investors are aware that it is possible to make money outside Poland, too. Foreign funds may also benefit from payments made in Polish zloty and from mechanisms that prevent foreign exchange risk. But their competitors are to develop. Last year, five investment companies registered their funds in the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego). These are the following: HSBC, Eurobank EFG, Millenium, KBC Asset Management and Raiffeisen.
Mr Miłek's Shoes
The title of the Entrepreneur of the Year 2007, in the competition organized for the sixth time by Ernst&Young, went to Dariusz Miłek, the founder of the NG2 shoe manufacturing company (formerly called CCC). This means that Dariusz Miłek will represent Poland in the competition called -World Entrepreneur of the Yearî, in which entrepreneurs from forty countries participate. The final will be organized in summer in Monte Carlo. The shoe empire of Dariusz Miłek was established at the beginning of political transformations in Poland in 1989. At the beginning, he opened a network of shoe shops, which in 1999 was named CCC (Cena Czyni Cuda, i. e. Price Works Miracles). Nowadays, Dariusz Miłek's company has 40 brands of shoes, almost 500 shops in Poland and in the Czech Republic, 3,000 employees and sells 10 million pairs of shoes annually. At the beginning of last year, the company changed the name to NG2.
Hotel Rush
Hotel giants and developers forecast an expansion in Poland. Over the few next years, the number of hotels, motels and boarding houses is to grow in Poland from 6,500 to almost 20,000. On the very day when Poland and Ukraine were chosen to organize Euro 2012, hoteliers started thinking about new investments. Although the number of hotels in Poland has been growing gradually, there are still not enough tourist class hotels. The gap is to be bridged quickly. Warimpex, an Austrian developer, together with the French company called Louvre Hotels is to build 80 hotels (one-star and two-star hotels) for EUR 500 million. Hilton also has no intention to remain passive and has already announced to open 11 hotels by 2012. These will not be, however, five-star hotels like the one built in Warsaw, but mainly economy class hotels, known in the world as Hotel Garden Inn. They will be constructed in Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Lodz, Szczecin and Katowice, and in other cities. Poznan is also to become a true hotel center, as here not only Hilton will be opened, but a few two-star and three-star hotels as well.
Super-Railways
The governments of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia want to merge their state freight railways. If they come to an agreement, a company will be established to carry 280 million tones of goods, which is only by 60 million less that the capacity of the European leader, DB Raillon. Such a company could actively compete for cargos transported from the east to the west and from the north to the south. At present, only 4 to 20 per cent of incomes of such companies come from this source. This is not much if we realize that two out of three railway routes leading from the east to the west of Europe run through Poland and Slovakia. The majority of goods are transported to the west by sea via Russian ports.
Over the last four years, the carriers offering cheap flights have completely changed the passenger flights market in Poland. Now, all large cities in the country have permanent connections with the world and Poles have learnt that a journey by plane does not necessarily ruin their budgets. Low cost airlines were born in America, and in the last decade of the 20th century they entered the European market. In Poland, their destination were neglected regional airports, which now offer many connections. At present, there are many cheap carriers available to choose from, and many others are preparing for entering the Polish sky. The potentates in cheap flying offer tens of regular connections between Poland and different cities abroad (Wizz Air - 55, Ryanair - 40, Centralwings - 35, Norwegian - 15). The competition on the airlines market has already proved beneficial, as traditional carriers have had to reduce their prices. And they are more and more often ready to introduce special cheaper offers.
Foreign Investments in Poland
Foreign investments continue to come to Poland. Last year and this year their value may reach USD 19 billion. According to a survey conducted by Ernst&Young, Poland is the second country, following China, where companies most willingly locate their industrial production. In 2007, there were 4,000 new companies with foreign capital shares established in Poland. These are mainly small and medium-sized companies, unlike in 2006, when the investors were most frequently large concerns, such as Indesit, which built a domestic appliances factory in Radomsko, or Toshiba, which constructed a television set factory in Kobierzyce. 90 per cent of the new enterprises are companies that invest below USD 1 million. Poland is most often a destination for companies from the automotive, electronic, food processing, paper-making and services sectors.
Foreign Funds in Poland
Foreign investment funds have started to win the competition for Polesî investment portfolios with their Polish counterparts. According to the Analizy Online company, their assets grew by as many as 22 per cent in the third quarter of 2007. In that period, the resources accumulated in the accounts of Polish funds increased by 1 per cent only. The interest in foreign funds has been observed for two years. And their popularity, according to experts, is bound to grow. Polish investors are aware that it is possible to make money outside Poland, too. Foreign funds may also benefit from payments made in Polish zloty and from mechanisms that prevent foreign exchange risk. But their competitors are to develop. Last year, five investment companies registered their funds in the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego). These are the following: HSBC, Eurobank EFG, Millenium, KBC Asset Management and Raiffeisen.
Mr Miłek's Shoes
The title of the Entrepreneur of the Year 2007, in the competition organized for the sixth time by Ernst&Young, went to Dariusz Miłek, the founder of the NG2 shoe manufacturing company (formerly called CCC). This means that Dariusz Miłek will represent Poland in the competition called -World Entrepreneur of the Yearî, in which entrepreneurs from forty countries participate. The final will be organized in summer in Monte Carlo. The shoe empire of Dariusz Miłek was established at the beginning of political transformations in Poland in 1989. At the beginning, he opened a network of shoe shops, which in 1999 was named CCC (Cena Czyni Cuda, i. e. Price Works Miracles). Nowadays, Dariusz Miłek's company has 40 brands of shoes, almost 500 shops in Poland and in the Czech Republic, 3,000 employees and sells 10 million pairs of shoes annually. At the beginning of last year, the company changed the name to NG2.
Hotel Rush
Hotel giants and developers forecast an expansion in Poland. Over the few next years, the number of hotels, motels and boarding houses is to grow in Poland from 6,500 to almost 20,000. On the very day when Poland and Ukraine were chosen to organize Euro 2012, hoteliers started thinking about new investments. Although the number of hotels in Poland has been growing gradually, there are still not enough tourist class hotels. The gap is to be bridged quickly. Warimpex, an Austrian developer, together with the French company called Louvre Hotels is to build 80 hotels (one-star and two-star hotels) for EUR 500 million. Hilton also has no intention to remain passive and has already announced to open 11 hotels by 2012. These will not be, however, five-star hotels like the one built in Warsaw, but mainly economy class hotels, known in the world as Hotel Garden Inn. They will be constructed in Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Lodz, Szczecin and Katowice, and in other cities. Poznan is also to become a true hotel center, as here not only Hilton will be opened, but a few two-star and three-star hotels as well.
Super-Railways
The governments of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia want to merge their state freight railways. If they come to an agreement, a company will be established to carry 280 million tones of goods, which is only by 60 million less that the capacity of the European leader, DB Raillon. Such a company could actively compete for cargos transported from the east to the west and from the north to the south. At present, only 4 to 20 per cent of incomes of such companies come from this source. This is not much if we realize that two out of three railway routes leading from the east to the west of Europe run through Poland and Slovakia. The majority of goods are transported to the west by sea via Russian ports.
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Information published at 4 February 2008